U.S.-China Relations: At Lowest Point in Almost Half a Century

Kevin Rudd on CNBC

February 11th, 2019

On February 11, Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) President Kevin Rudd joined CNBC’s Closing Bell to discuss U.S.-China trade talks and the state of relations between the world’s two largest economies. Rudd offered a bleak assessment of the current state of diplomacy, saying that relations between the United States and China are “at the lowest ebb since ’72 — since Nixon went to China — and that’s nearly half a century.”

Rudd advised that all aspects of U.S.-China relations, taken individually, are in 'negative territory,' including trade, investment, technology, foreign policy, national security, cyber, and space. Despite his negative diplomatic assessment, Rudd did offer relative certainty that the United States and China would reach a trade deal on or around the March 1 deadline, given the softening of the domestic markets on both sides from the ongoing trade war. However, Rudd assesses that the deal will likely only be 'superficial plus' given the underlying sticking points — intellectual property rights and other high-technology issues.

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